Some Things T Editors Are Really Into Right Now

June 2, 2017

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Space Shoes

Nike is known to outfit professional athletes, but the sportswear brand and a space-obsessed artist are more unexpected partners-in-merch. Nevertheless, five years ago, Tom Sachs collaborated with Nike on a shoe for Tommaso Rivellini, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., using the same material Rivellini used to invent airbags for Mars rovers. The sneakers quickly became part of the Sachs studio uniform; in time, however, the artist and his cohort discovered that the shoe “breaks like a paper clip” if it’s folded too much in the same spot. “We put it through all of the usual Nike tests,” Sachs notes, “but we discovered an unknown unknown.”

A second and vastly improved iteration, the Mars Yard 2.0, officially launches next week at Nike and Sachs’s so-called “Space Camp” in N.Y.C. The festivities — part obstacle course (based on a series of physical and mental exercises Sachs does with his team three times a week) and part film screening — stress the importance of failure in art and athletics (and in outer space). And the commonalitiesdon’t stop there. “I’m the Michael Jordan of plywood,” Sachs says. “That’s the place where I’m like Mike — mixed-media construction.” $200, nikecraft.com — HILARY MOSS

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CreditMartin Vallin; Lindsay McAleav

Earthy Scandinavian Scents — and Stoneware

“In Sweden, we have a lot of respect for handicrafts and Swedes feel comfortable, for example, in the fashion world, but we don’t have the tradition of making scents,” the designer Ann Ringstrand says. In 2015, she stepped away from Hope, the clothing brand she co-founded 14 years earlier, and began to experiment with non-fabric materials. Her debut collection of fragrances launches today, and each of the three earthy and subdued aromas is rendered as a perfume, a candle and an oil. She actually tackled the latter first. “When I started to work on this, it was more about the space surrounding us — then, in Paris, the team suggested that we create an eau de parfum.” But, back in Scandinavia, Ringstrand couldn’t find an appropriately minimalist oil diffuser. So she and her friend and former studio mate, the sculptor Maria Moyer, partnered on a series ofdiffusers. Made from unglazed porcelain, earthenware and stoneware, the one-of-a-kind pieces are also available for purchase on Ringstrand’s website. Scents, $70 to $200; diffusers, $475 to $1,200, annringstrand.com— H.M.

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Not Your Average Children’s Book

Photography books for children are rare, so I was especially excited to discover "Everywhere, Always," a new book by the husband-and-wife duo Jason Schmidt (a T contributor) and Cory Jacobs. In the spirit of "Where’s Waldo?" the book follows the couple’s tiny, orange-clad son, Jules, to big Brooklyn landmarks. The accompanying poetic text by Alex Vlack subtly prompts the reader not only to seek out Jules but also to admire with fresh eyes everything from the cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to the horses in Jane’s Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park. An illustrated map by Nicholas Blechman charts Jules’s journey through his beloved borough. Next week, on June 10, the entire family will sign copies of "Everywhere, Always" at Dashwood Books in New York City. $30, everywherealways.net— JAMIE SIMS

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A Really Good Clean

Natural facialists like Kristina Holey — and her friends at New York’s CAP Beauty spa — usually begin treatments with a long, vigorous massage. The key ingredient is an oil cleanser, including one from Marie Veronique’s eponymous line (Holey recently teamed up with Veronique to create a capsule of adult acne-fighting potions), which sloughs off dirt and dead skin. Using the same cleanser at home has a similarly satisfying effect (you can feel pellets of grime moving around under your fingers), as do equally aromatic and effective options from Kiehl’s and F. Miller. — ALAINNA LEXIE BEDDIE